“Prosecutors should defend themselves, but politicians are also in the red.” Gianfranco Rotondi speaks out

A massive pay rise for judges. But what about politicians? “Pay rises for MPs have been on hold for decades. MPs are all in the red, and not because they’re spendthrifts.” Gianfranco Rotondi, an MP and one of the last remaining Christian Democrats, speaks to Il Foglio following yet another row between the government and the judiciary. At the heart of it all is Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s refusal to sign the Prime Ministerial Decree (Dpcm) that would unlock pay rises for magistrates totalling around one billion euros, as ruled by several judgments of the Council of State. The National Magistrates’ Association has responded to this refusal by threatening to lodge an appeal. “If they’re defending their rights, they’re right to do so,” says Rotondi, who, as a true Christian Democrat, does not take sides. “The government is also right to defend its position and maintain a balanced budget.” However, MPs are also set to earn less than expected. In 2006, the monthly parliamentary allowance was reduced from 12,000 to just over 11,700 euros gross, before falling to just over 10,000 euros in 2012. In 2007, the Bureau of the Chamber of Deputies, led by the then Speaker Fausto Bertinotti (of Rifondazione Comunista), approved the first five-year suspension of salary adjustments to MPs’ allowances. This measure has since been extended continuously, most recently until the end of 2026.

“MPs’ salaries were linked to the salary of the First President of the Court of Cassation. If one went up, so did the other,” explains Rotondi. “After Tangentopoli, the Montecitorio establishment bowed to the judiciary and decided that this automatic link would no longer apply; it was suspended. A decision,” he continues, “dictated partly by a desire to pander to anti-political propaganda, and partly by adherence to the prevailing view that magistrates perhaps fulfil a social function more useful to society than MPs do. An implicit endorsement of anti-parliamentary and anti-establishment theories.”

According to the MP, the issue is purely one of political philosophy. “Should an MP be paid as a member of the ruling class, or as a rather fortunate worker who gets to wander the Chambers with a few perks? It’s a topic that might interest universities and political science symposia, but it will never reach Parliament, believe me.” In essence, Rotondi summarises, today “those who are on the front line of politics and do so with passion – and don’t steal – end up losing out. ‘I,’ he adds, ‘have always been in politics out of passion and have never cared a jot about the financial aspects. But if you look at the list of my assets when I returned to Parliament in 2001 and when I became a minister in 2008, and then look at my assets now, you’ll realise just how much I’ve lost out on through politics.’ First-time MPs, he emphasises, “feel rich for the first three months. But in the end, MPs all find themselves in the red, and it’s not because they’re all spendthrifts. Politics comes at a cost.”

And what about you, Rotondi, author of a book aptly titled “Meglio la casta” – don’t you think it would be appropriate to call for a pay rise for MPs as well? “What can I say, it’s a lost cause,” he replies. “If it were actually done, all the newspapers – apart from Il Foglio – would publish a photograph of whoever proposed it, claiming that the political elite wants to increase its own salary. On the eve of the vote, who on earth would dare to put their face to something like that? By now – he continues, with a hint of bitterness – ever since politics abolished parliamentary immunity in ’94, it’s all been a downward spiral. Politics has torn its robe to shreds; only tatters remain in the hands of party officials.” By now, the MP adds, “politics has been criminalised. A climate has been created that is far too hostile towards anything to do with the costs of politics, from public funding of political parties to that of political newspapers, and then MPs’ salaries and expenses. It’s all forbidden; it’s all a sin. I repeat, it’s a lost battle.” Hence, a provocative proposal rooted in the late Roman Republic. “I am in favour of a parliamentary mandate being unpaid. After all, without realising it, we are returning to the era of the Optimates (the aristocratic nobles who influenced political life in ancient Rome, ed.), with people enjoying one day a week of parliamentary life without having to provide for themselves. It will end like this – the MP is certain of it. And indeed, today more and more wealthy people are entering politics.”